The Next Direction
by maanorchidee
Summary: What's going to happen to the A New Directions? Couples will split, others will stay. Friends forever, or maybe not? Will their dreams come too? It's time for the next direction. (A New Direction sequel)
1. Mea and Kevin

**Hello everyone, it's me again. A couple of months ago, I created my own glee OCs. I wrote a story about them, but it had an open end. I didn't know the ending. I do now.**

**In case you haven't noticed: I've updated A New Direction. I added All or Nothing as a prologue and went through all the chapters, correcting my mistakes. I also added a link to the AND playlist.**

**This story will be different from AND, though. AND was the same: all chapters around 2,000 - 5,000 words with mostly Marley's POV. This one will be different. **

**The lenghts of the chapters are all different (I think and I hope). Some will be around 8K, others longer. Maybe even shorter. I have no idea. The Next Direction takes places after high school. Some stories will start directly after graduation and focus on their years in college, others on married life. Some stories will end with the characters in their 30s, others with death. Some stories will have a lot of music in it, others only two. **

**AND was a story with songs, this is chapters with songs and stories around them. Yes, I said I made up I mind, but I often changed things for songs. Basically, I had a draft and developed it with songs.**

**All chapters will focus on two characters only. Sometimes, you will find parts from one chapters also in the others. For example, Kate will most likely cross Tyler and Carla's chapter several times. **

**Also, an chapter of AND was written in one day. This one here took me two weeks. I don't have an update schedule. School has started again and everyone keeps telling me that this is one of the busiest years,** so we'll see.****

**Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

_Mea Statsons and Kevin Hamilton. _

_Will they get out of Lima? _

_What are their dreams? _

_And most importantly: will said dreams involve each other?_

* * *

Not all friendships last forever. Mea and Kevind have learned that the hard way. Mea left Ohio and went to L.A, while Kevin packed his stuff and left for New York.

They have tried to keep in touch, but distance took its toll. In the beginning, they talked daily. Then weekly. Then monthly.

And it killed Mea from the inside, so one day a year later she did the unthinkable. The permanently broke contact. She changed her e-mail and phone number, she defriended Kevin on all social media, she moved to another apartment – her first own apartment.

It was time to move on.

Four months later and Mea got rejected, once again. College isn't her cup of tea. Mea wants showbusiness, without all the studying and theory part. She knows she has the potential, but those stupid producers didn't see it and it fucking irritates her.

The next day, she meets yet another guy in a local bar. He might help her, but-

"No," the man, Mr. Robins, says after a moment, "Amelia, I know that I said that you were born to be on TV, but right now… I'm not sure anymore."

"The name is Mea," Mea scoffs.

"Mea, of course," Mr. Robins apologizes, or at least he tries.

"But why? You said-" "I know what I said, Mea, but it's just- you're too blank," he says and Mea feels like she's about to explode. "Too blank?" she snorts, "What does that even mean?"

"Well, you only have one side," Mr. Robins explains, "And that is this weird, dark, gothic-y side of yours. There's nothing wrong with that," he quickly adds, "But it's not good enough for a celebrity."

"Only one side?" Mea asked sharply. He nodded.

Mea laughs bitterly and the man actually seems afraid. "Let me tell you one thing, sir," she says sternly, "I am everything, or not worth your shit. I am all or nothing." Mea smiles to herself. This is one of the moments where she misses her old glee club, including Kev- no, no! Don't do that Mea!

She looks away and sees a small stage. There is an open mic.

"Watch me," she says and smiles innocently.

_I hate the world today__  
__You're so good to me__  
__I know but I can't change__  
__Tried to tell you but you look at me like maybe I'm an angel underneath__  
__Innocent and sweet_

Mr. Robins seems to listen.

_Yesterday I cried__  
__You must have been relieved to see the softer side__  
__I can understand how you'd be so confused,__  
__I don't envy you__  
__I'm a little bit of everything all rolled into one_

Now was her time…

_I'm a bitch__  
__I'm a lover__  
__I'm a child__  
__I'm a mother__  
__I'm a sinner__  
__I'm a saint__  
__I do not feel ashamed__  
__I'm your hell__  
__I'm your dream__  
__I'm nothing in between__  
__You know you wouldn't want it any other way_

… to shine.

_So take me as I am__  
__This may mean you'll have to be a stronger man__  
__Rest assured that when I start to make you nervous__  
__And I'm going to extremes__  
__Tomorrow I will change and today won't mean a thing_

All the people enjoy it and Mea is rocking out. She owns the song.

I'm a bitch  
_I'm a lover__  
__I'm a child__  
__I'm a mother__  
__I'm a sinner__  
__I'm a saint__  
__I do not feel ashamed__  
__I'm your hell__  
__I'm your dream__  
__I'm nothing in between__  
__You know you wouldn't want it any other way_

She remembers singing this for the very first time when she was little. She loved the song, even though she didn't understand the importance back then. Not it is her anthem.

_Just when you think you've got me figured out__  
__The season's already changing__  
__I think it's cool you do what you do and don't try to save me_

Mea headbangs and shakes her hips while singing.

_I'm a bitch__  
__I'm a lover__  
__I'm a child__  
__I'm a mother__  
__I'm a sinner__  
__I'm a saint__  
__I do not feel ashamed__  
__I'm your hell__  
__I'm your dream__  
__I'm nothing in between__  
__You know you wouldn't want it any other way_

_I'm a bitch__  
__I'm a tease__  
__I'm a Goddess on my knees__  
__When you hurt__  
__When you suffer__  
__I'm your angel undercover__  
__I've been numb__  
__I'm revived__  
__Can't say I'm not alive__  
__You know I wouldn't want it any other way_

She winked to her audience.

_Ooh, Ooh__  
__Ooh, Ooh__  
__Ooh, Ooh__  
__Ooh, Ooh__  
__Ooh, Ooh__  
__Ooh, Ooh__  
__Ooh, Ooh__  
__Ooh, Ooh__  
__Ooh, Ooh__  
__Ooh, Ooh__  
__Ooh, Ooh_

She is out of breath, but she bows. The people in café all clap loudly and Mea beams with pride. She walks back to Mr. Robins, who is still sitting at the table. He slowly applauds her. "I see," he says, sounding impressed, "I'll think about it."

They shake hands and he leaves.

"You're getting a drink for free," the bartender says happily, "That performance was absolutely amazing!" Mea accepts the drink and smiles. She hasn't felt this happy in months.

Although, she really wants to share this happiness with someone.

She still has friends. Phoebe went to LA with her and she's introduced Mea to some of her friends from college, but she misses a best friend. She is actually thinking about calling Kevin.

But then-

"Isn't it Amelia or Mea Statsons," she hears and she can't believe her ears. She turns around. "Jason von Maes," she grins when she sees Jace, "What on earth are you doing here? I thought you were in New York with Tim."

Jace shrugs. "Tim and I- things didn't work out. I messed up badly," he sighs deeply, "But now I'm here. I just arrived this morning."

"And why did you come to the West Coast?" Mea asks, "What are you plans?" Jace shrugs again. "Like I said, I messed up," he says, "But I'll tell you later. I mean, I hope- If I'm ready to tell. Long story short: I messed up with someone and that someone lives in LA. I hope she lets me stay in her apartment, because I'm not planning on leaving."

"Wait, _with_ someone?"

"Yeah… But I better get going. I need to talk to that person as soon as possible, otherwise I'd be homeless," Jace laughs it away, but Mea knows better.

They exchange numbers and Jace is about to leave when Mea remembers something Carla said back in high school. _"Mea, you should talk to Jace. You two fit perfectly together,"_ she has suggested,_ "in a very platonic way, of course."_

She suddenly has an idea.

"Jace!" she calls out. Jace stops in the doorway. "Yes?" Mea quickly texts him something. "That's my address," she says, "I don't know much about this someone, but if it doesn't work out I just want you to know that I need a roommate."

"Really?" Jace asks in disbelief. "Really," Mea says, "Now go to that someone and I guess I'll see you."

* * *

When Mea gets home that night, she sees Jace sitting on her doorstep. There are also three large suitcases.

"I guess it didn't work out, uh?" Mea gives him a reassuring smile. Jace looks tired. He nods sadly.  
"Come on then," Mea opens the door, "Let's get you in then." Jace protests, but Mea doesn't listen. She shows him the spare room and leaves him there.

When she wakes up that morning she spots Jace standing in the kitchen.

"Morning," he says, "I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to repay you for letting me stay. Eggs?"

The eggs are good, like really good. They sit down and eat in silence. Mea decides to break that silence.

"Okay. Spill."

Jace swallows. "I got a girl pregnant," he confesses.

_Now what can you say to that?_

"What?" Mea is confused, "But… you're gay, right?"

"Yes, that is the worst part," Jace says bitterly.

"And I assume Timothy didn't take the news well?" Mea asks and Jace hisses. "Can we not talk about Tim?" he asks, "But yeah. He didn't really like his boyfriend impregnating a random girl."

"I just… how? I mean, are you kidding me? A random girl?" Mea has seen a lot of shit, but this was unbelievable. Jace shrugs. He always shrugs. "Her name is Marcie," he says, like it makes it all better.  
"But can we not?" he begs, "Just not now."

Mea hums in agreement.

"How about you?" Jace starts, "How is LA treating you?"

"Badly," Mea spits, "I try every time. And they always reject me."

"Still trying out for showbiz? Really?"

"Really-really," she says.

"And what happened with you and Kev?"

Mea almost chokes on her eggs. "What'cha mean?" she tries.

"Honey, I've lived in New York with him, Tim, Damian and Lulu," he says, "I know that there is something going on. He won't tell me, but he did tell Damian that it has something to do with you. It looked like you killed him, girl."

"I killed him?" Mea asks. "Well, not literally. I was with Tim at their apartment and Kevin had just discovered this awesome new recipe and he was eager to tell you," Jace tells her, "He went to his room to call you and came out an hour later. He looked devastated."

Mea buries her head in her hands. "Oh god."

"So Lulu asked him what was wrong and he said that he couldn't reach you," Jace continues, "There was no e-mail, no phone number, no nothing. We all tried to contact you after that, but it was in vain."

Oh shit, Mea has been so focused on cutting Kevin off, she has totally forgotten the others.

"So now I'm kinda wondering what happened. I swear, I won't tell Kevin!" Jace quickly adds, "He doesn't even know I'm here. Hence, Tim doesn't even know that Marcie lives here."

"I couldn't do it, okay?" Mea hisses, "He was gone and I needed him, but he wasn't there. Not anymore." "I know how you feel, because that's how I felt about Tim," Jace says back, "But I didn't do it because I wanted it. My 'accident' just happened and look where I am now? Chasing the woman I knocked up to help her."

"That is very… wow, very honourable of you."

"Honourable?" Jace laughs bitterly, "Wow. That's a new one. Only Marcie and Tim know and they both hate me for it. But back to Kevin. Do you wanna know what that recipe was?"

Mea shakes her head, but Jace tells her anyway. He nods to her plate. "Eggs," he says, "He taught me how to prepare them like that."

"But he is a baker? He works in a bakery, with cakes and stuff," Mea sputters, "I mean, that was a year ago." "Still does," Jace shrugs, "But he was so proud of himself. He was just messing around with eggs and voila. Eggs. And then he finds out his best friend cut him out of her life. Now I know this is not my situation, but I suggest you apologize to him."

"Yeah, sure," Mea says sarcastically, "Just out of the blue: 'Hi Kev, sorry for defriending you, but here I am again' and we will live happily ever after. It's for the best. He just has to move on."

"Have you?" Jace asks.

Mea doesn't answer.

* * *

Jace spends most of his time helping this Marcie out and working. He has found a job and he uses the money to pay the rent and to support Marcie, who lives with her best friend in an apartment.

Mea spends most of her time working her ass off or waiting for Mr. Robins to call. She also meets Marcie and her best friend, Alicia. Jace introduces her as a friend.

Weeks pass and Mea starts to lose faith. Maybe Mr. Robins wasn't impressed at all that day. Maybe he thought she was just another young adult who moved to LA without a degree who wanted to shine big.

Then, Mr. Robins calls.

"Hello?" Mea says breathlessly. "Mea!" Mr. Robins sounds happy, "I got you a small role. It doesn't involve singing or anything, but it's a start."

"Really?" Mea shrieks. She can't believe it.

"Really, but Mea? It's not too much. You just need to come to the network's headquarters. Preferably this week, if that's okay with you. They'll talk about it there."

"Thank you, sir," Mea beams, "And I knew it wouldn't be too much, but still thank you." Mr. Robins hangs up and Mea jumps in the air from happiness. "Oh my god," she says, "Oh my god." She quickly calls the only one on her mind right now.

"Yeah?" she hears Jace's voice. He sounds irritated.

"At what time will you be home?" she asks. Then the front door opens. "Uh, now?" Jace says and hangs up. He looks exhausted: he is pale (he always is, but this looks even paler) and has red rimmed eyes.

"Rough day?" Mea asks slowly. Jace nods and sighs. "Don't wanna talk about it." "Of course you don't want to," Mea rolls her eyes.

"But you called?" Jace says, "It sounded urgent."

"Oh, _that_," Mea tries to hide her smile, "Just… Mr. Robins just called me to tell me I landed a small role."

"_OH MY GOD, MEA!" _Jace yells, "Are you kidding?" He basically jumps in her arms. "I wouldn't joke about something like this," Mea laughs, "And you're the first to know."

"Seriously, not even your parents- I mean mom," Jace quickly corrects himself. He knows very well that Mea's dad abandoned the family when she was a little girl.

"No, but I totally should tell them."

* * *

Mea goes to the network's headquarters that weekend. She is excited as hell. Sadly, the excitement deflates when she sees what her role is. "So, I'm a homeless prostitute dancing in some bar?" she says, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Yes," one of the men says, "Mr. Robins told us about you. He said that you had no problem with a role like that, since your, let me say audition looked like that."

Mea wants to strangle him.

"What exactly did he tell you?" Mea asks sceptically. "Well, he saw you performing in a local bar and he said that you looked slutty enough. His words, not mine," another men says.

"So, we have a deal?" they hand Mea a formal looking sheet of paper. Mea eyes the paper. It is trash, that's true. But it might be a breaking point.

On the other hand, they're only using Mea for her looks, on a very offensive way.

She smiles innocently when she sees the paper and she rips it apart. She leaves with shooting all the men the finger.

When she gets home, she hears more horrible news. She skipped a day of work for that god damn interview and they fired her.

She angrily calls her work. "I told you that I wasn't coming!" she shouts. The whole apartment is trembling. Jace, who is sitting in his room, bonks on his door several times. "No, I told you- No, you listen to m- I didn't do anything wrong. _That_ was one time, sir!"

The boss hangs up on her and Mea curses in frustration. Jace's door opens. "I assume that it didn't end well?" he leans in the doorframe. Mea shakes her head and she tries to stop it, but she can't help it.

She cries.

Jace is shocked. He has never seen Mea like this. He rushes to her and wraps his arms around her. "Oh Mea…"

"He is such an asshole," Mea chokes out, "And I bet it was that bitch of a Hastings. She has hated me since the beginning." Jace rubs circles on her back and lets her cry.

Mea ends up in a depression after that.

She barely eats, showers or leaves her room. She doesn't even leave the apartment. When Marcie comes over to discuss some things with Jace, she stays in her room with her lights shut off. Even Phoebe visits. She tries to cheer her up, but it is no use.

After months of basically nothing, Jace flips out.

"God fuck damnit, Statsons!" he yells when Mea shuffles to the table to eat some breakfast – hey, at least it's something, "Can you get your shit together!?"

Mea shoots him the finger.

"None of that now, okay?" Jace groans in frustration, "I get it. Life sucks, but it also sucks for me! I have to work double shifts now to support us, but also Marcie. She is eight months, god damnit. She can't work."

"Not my fault that you decided to fuck her," Mea snaps, "Shouldn't have done that."

"It was an accident!" he screams angrily, "You dropping all your shit that you called life is not an accident. Get your fucking head out of your ass. Have you even noticed the pile of bills?" He points to the kitchen counter. There is indeed a huge stack of papers, but Mea rolls her eyes.

"Look, Mea, I don't care about your whole 'fuck the world' attitude. I know this is technically your apartment, but I won't hesitate to throw you out," he spits, "Remember High School? You weren't the only cold hearted bitch in glee club."

"Fuck off," she yells. Jace backs away.

"Fine," he says, "Fine. I'll go to Marcie, someone who actually appreciates all the effort, for the week. Let's see if you can survive on your own."

He leaves that afternoon.

When Mea wakes up the next day, the silence hits her. Jace isn't around. She slowly replays all the things that happened the day before.

She feels like an idiot.

"Great job, Mea," she groans to herself, "Cutting off yet another best friend." She slams her head against the table.

She manages to live like that for three days. On her fourth day alone, she realises that she has no more food in the house and no more money. For the first time in months, she realizes what damage she has done.

She reaches for the phone to call Jace, but then her eyes land on the phone bills in the kitchen.

_What has she done._

It's 2033 and the world has changed a lot in the past two decades and people have invented incredible things, but money still doesn't grow on trees.

The sharp ring of the bell pulls her out of her trance. She basically runs towards the door. Maybe it is Jace. She needs to apologize as soon as possible.

But it isn't Jace.

It is man wearing an expensive looking suit and sunglasses. He even wears white gloves and he carries a suitcase.

"Amelia Emma Statsons?" he asks.

"Yes, that's me," Mea is confused. Who the hell is this man.

"May I come in? The two of us have business to do." "Not that I'm aware," Mea honestly doesn't have time for whatever this bullshit, "So, if you'll excuse me-" "Your father passed away this week," the man interrupts her.

Mea freezes.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he says, but Mea doesn't care about that part. Her dad never cared about her. "But I'm here with your father's will."

Mea opens the door and steps inside. The man goes inside. "I'd love to offer you something to drink, but we- I mean, I have nothing in the house," she shrugs. The man nods and sits down. "That is quite alright, Ms. Statsons."

Mea joins him. "So, my father, uh?" she says. "Yes, your father, Arthur William Statsons," the man says. "How did he die?" Mea asks. "Heart attack, but he was already sick," the man answers, "Once again, I'm sorry for your loss." Mea nods.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Statsons, I've been your father's lawyer for quite some time, but I've never seen you before," he admits, "I must say that I don't really know how to act around you. But shall we begin?" Mea shrugs. "Fine by me." She just wants it to be over.

Her father's lawyer reads the whole thing, and honestly, Mea starts dozing off.

"_\- and then, my dearest daughter Amelia_," she looks up, _"My sweetest Amy,"_ Mea sighs at the name. She vaguely remembers her dad calling her that. She has abandoned the name the same way he has abandoned her.

"_I know that you will hear this after I've left you and your mother. I'm sure you want nothing to do with me, but I just want you to know that I never meant to run away from you."_ Mea doesn't know how, but she feels her eyes watering. _"Amy, I just want you to understand that I did this because your mother and I weren't meant for together. I might've been selfish, but I've never regretted leaving your mother."_

Mea's heart sinks.

"_But I will always regret leaving you,"_ Mea's eyes widen, _"Amy, I left you because I knew it would be safer for you to grow up with your mother. When I left you, I was broke and homeless. I didn't want a life on the streets for you. Even after I became this wealthy, I tried to contact you again. But your mother told me you hated me. I stopped trying after your sixteenth birthday."_

Mea really needs to call her mom. She has a lot of explaining to do.

"_Maybe you still want nothing to do with me, but I hope you'll accept the money I leave for you. I'm sick and I know that I don't have much time left, so you're probably in college right now."_ Well, that didn't work out_, "So I hope that this will help you. I love you, Amelia. Remember that."_

Mea feels tears streaming down her face. "Amelia, or should I call you Amy?" her father's lawyer says. "Mea," Mea answers, "My name is Mea."

"Mea, I know he hasn't really stated it in the letter he wrote for you, but he left you seven million dollars." Mea's head is about to explode.

"What?" she asks, "I- How?"

"Your father made a lot of investments after he ran away. It simply made him rich," her father's lawyer explains, "But I shall leave you now, if that's alright with you." Mea nods. She needs time to process this.

"I hope I'll see you again," he says before leaving.

Mea's first instinct is to call Kevin. After protesting to herself, she wants to call Jace. But then she remember why he left her alone for the week. She needs to sort her shit out.

After grieving, she pays all the bills and cleans the whole place. After that, she actually leaves her apartment to go to the grocery store. She stocks the whole fridge and buys some snacks for her and Jace.

She also buys presents for his and Marcie's baby - she still thinks that that is weird.

On the day that Jace comes home, she prepares for him (in her opinion) the best meal ever. When the door finally opens, Jace's eyes are wide open.

"Welcome home," Mea smiles genuinely.

"What?" is all he can say.

At dinner, Mea tells him the full story. Jace seems impressed and actually kisses her on the cheek. "I'm glad you're back, bitch," he says and Mea laughs.

Mea treats him the next week. She sends him off for a weekend in the local wellness station. When he comes home, he bounces. "I met someone!" is all he can say.

Julia Stevens is born a month later. Marcie states that she wants Jace, but also Mea, to be a part of Julia's life, since they've both been so supportive.

Mea hears a couple of weeks later from a random guy on the street that she is perfect for TV. She starts with a small role with only a couple of lines, but she gets asked again for three more episodes.

There, they see how talented she is and she lands a recurring role in the TV hit show Free Fallin'. It's about a group of misfits who meet each other by accident and end up being friends for life. There she meets one of her co-starts Clark Matthews.

2034 starts good.

* * *

"Do you like Clark Matthews, Amelia?" Jace asks teasingly. He is sitting in their living room with Julia in his lap. Marcie and Alicia wanted some girl time, so they have offered to babysit Julia.

"Good question," she smiles, "Do you like Owen Porter, Jason?" Jace sputters something. "Yes, I know better, Jace. You met him that weekend and you've been talking about him in your sleep ever since. Apparently you're too afraid to date him because he might dislike your 'dad' status."

"I talk in my sleep?" Jace asks horrified.

"You do. And hard too, because I can hear it all," Mea smirks, "So, we both have epic crushes on boys. What do we do now?" Jace, as always, shrugs.

"I suggest we both make it happen, idiot," Mea says, "I'll talk to Clark tomorrow and you will confess your undying love for Owen. By the end of the year, we both have boyfriends. Deal?"

Jace smirks back. "Deal," he says, "Now pass me the bottle for Julia."

Mea goes to work the next day. After she shoots some scenes, she approaches Clark. "This new script sucks," he complains, "Never let him write an episode again." "I agree," Mea says, "We should file a complaint or something." Clark laughs. "I don't think that will work," he says, "I suggest we should talk about it over coffee. That okay with you?"

_More than okay._

"Sure, why not."

They're dating by the end of the year. Jace's crush didn't work out. They have dated for a few months, but after a while Jace decided that Owen wasn't good enough for him and Julia.

"I win," she says at New Year's Eve and Jace pouts. They're having a full house. They're celebrating the New Year with Marcie and her family, Alicia, Phoebe and her lover and of course, with Clark.

Clark kisses her when the clock strikes twelve. She has money, she has a career, she has friends and she has him. Life is good.

* * *

She moves in with Clark a year later. Marcie leaves Alicia to live with Jace and Julia in Mea's old apartment.

Free Fallin' has ended, but the producers have offered Mea a bigger role in another TV show, named Fans, loosely based on the book FaNGIRL written by Rainbow Rowell in 2013 and that old TV show Friends. It's about a group of fans in college. Mea plays Gabriella Moore, a crazy ass fangirl who loves sci-fi books and shows.

She has gained quite a lot of fame. She can't walk around anymore without getting recognized, but she doesn't mind the fans stopping her on the streets. This is what she wanted.

Clark makes some cameos in Fangirl, but he stars in yet another movie. They barely see each other, but they make it work. He proposes two years later.

It's 2038 and Mea is with Jace in New York. She's getting married in a month and Mea is in the city for an interview. She brought Jace with her. At first, he was a little reluctant to go. It has been years since he has been in the Big Apple, but Mea begged him to go with her.

Jace was also engaged to a guy called Nathaniel Woods. They met a few weeks after Mea moved out. His wedding was a few weeks after hers. They already have attended couple of weddings, including Phoebe's, Kate's and Miles's. Apparently, 2038 is the year of the weddings.

After the interview, she allows herself to have some free time. She drags Jace with her to a small bakery/coffee shop.

"Why here?" he asks when they enter the place. They look around. It's not big, but it's cosy. To their delight they see that there's an open mic. A girl is rocking out on stage.

"No paparazzi," Mea answers, "And I know you're terrified of running into Tim, so the smaller, the better." Jace just huffs something.

They both order a piece of cake and coffee. The girl ends her song and another girl takes over. A man introduces her happily and Mea and Jace clap.

They talk about their weddings, Julia and other stuff. Then, the man announces another performer. "Ladies and gentlemen, can you believe it? It's one of our own!" he yells, "Give a round of applause for our own baker!"

Mea and Jace continue talking while clapping. They don't look at the stage, but then they hear a familiar voice.

* * *

_Years earlier_

* * *

"Oh my god, how did you this?" Lulu asks in astonishment. She's eating the eggs Kevin just made and they're absolutely delicious.

"It just happened," Kevin grins and hands a plate to his other roommate. Damian accepts it and Kevin turns to the two visitors. "Do the lovebirds want something too?" he says teasingly. Timothy gives Jace a peck on the lips.

"Nah, I prefer eating him," he says and Jace rolls his eyes.

"You two are adorable," Lulu smiles, "if not inappropriate."

Kevin looks around, smiling fondly. He really loves his friends and his life in New York. Damian has made it into NYADA, Timothy goes to Columbia, Jace to NYU, Lulu attends Parsons and Kevin himself goes to ICE, Institute of Culinary Education. He knows that they're all very lucky.

He loves all four of them, but there's always one person missing for him.

Mea.

"You guys stay here," he says, "I need to call Mea. She has to know this too." Everyone gives him a thumbs-up and Kevin retreats back to his room. He speed dials Mea.

Only-

_This number is out of use, if you-_

He stops listening after 'out of use'. "What the fuck," he says to himself. He tries again and again and again, but he always gets the same message.

He quickly e-mails her and he groans in frustration when the e-mail return not five minutes later. He opens an internet browser and checks her address. He has never been that fond of the privacy breaks the internet displays, but right now, he appreciates it.

He almost yells when he sees that someone else has moved in.

He tries to find her on every social media he knows she has and feels his heart sinking when he sees that she is nowhere to be seen.

Or she has deactivated, or she has made her profiles invisible for search. He spends the rest of the hour finding her, but after a moment, he gives up.

He slumps to the living room.

"Oh, Kev, they are totally right!" Jace says, eating eggs, "The eggs are amazing. You have to learn me this anytime soon." Kevin acknowledges it with a nod.

"Are you okay?" Lulu asks when she sees her roommate's devastated face.

"Mea is gone," he says numbly. The others exchange some glances. "Gone?" Timothy asks, "What do you mean by gone?"

So Kevin tells them the whole story.

"But- why?" Lulu asks, "I'm going to call her." "Me too." "So will I." "Let me get my phone too." All four of them get the same message.

They try again, but it's in vain.

It feels like Mea Statsons disappeared from the earth.

* * *

Jace leaves a couple of months after that, also without explanation. Timothy doesn't come out of the house, so Damian stays with him for the week.

"First Mea, now Jace," Lulu shakes her head in disbelief. "Please tell me that you aren't planning on leaving too," Kevin whispers brokenly.

"Still not over her?" Lulu asks. Kevin shakes his head. "She just left," he spits, "She didn't call me before or something. One day she's there and the next she's gone. Have you heard anything from Phoebe?"

"She hasn't seen Mea in quite some time," Lulu answers, "She only knows that she has moved, but she doesn't know to where. Sorry to tell you this, but Mea is not coming back. It's time to start living again. The past four months have been hell, yes, I can see that. You cannot continue your life like this."

"It's just so shitty," he says, "Everything feels shitty."

Lulu sighs. "Remember my favourite?"

"That old one? That classic?"

Lulu nods. "At one moment, Charlie writes: '_Things change, and friends leave, but life doesn't stop for anybody._' This also applies to you and Mea. Yes, maybe she's gone forever, but you cannot stop living now. You're way too young for that."

Kevin smiles and hugs her tightly. "Thanks, Lu."

"Always."

So he goes on with life. He dates a few girls and bakes quite a lot. Months pass, even years. Then, Damian calls him.

He is sitting on his bed, reading this awesome book by the even more awesome J.K. Rowling when Damian shouts: "KEV! GET YOUR ASS HERE!"

He puts away his book and slumps to the living room. He, Lulu and Lulu's new boyfriend Max are watching TV. "You gotta watch this!" Lulu peeps, "It's that new show called Fans." Kevin has heard about it, but never really cared.

"So?"

"So! Sit down, man," Damian says, "You're in for a surprise. Timothy pointed it out!" Kevin, not really caring, sits next to him and watches the show. There is a lot of drama between two characters, but then the scene ends and another begins.

"_I honestly don't care about him," a girl called Anna said, "If he doesn't like my fandoms, then he can suck it. I don't need him when I have my ships."_

"_Are you sure about that?" they heard Gabriella._

Kevin's eyes widen. He knows that voice.

"_I mean, fandoms are life," the shot turned to Gabriella, "We and all the others both know that, but there's more. If you don't want to date him because he hates your fandoms, that's your decision. But aren't you going too far?"_

"_You would've done the same," Anna snapped._

"_Maybe," Gabriella admitted, "But the way you look at Dylan… I've never done that. Not even with Rupert."_

"_But you loved him," Anna didn't expect that, "I thought you did."_

"_I thought I did, too," Gabriella smiled weakly._

"Oh… my… god," Kevin whispers to himself. "You knew her the best," Damian says, "So that is Mea, uh?" Kevin nods.

"I did some research online," Lulu reaches for her tablet, "Apparently she's in the main cast. And according to iMDB, this isn't her first role."

"Maybe that's why she stopped talking?" Max shrugged, "Her career came on the first place." Everyone gaped at him. "How could you say that about Mea?" Kevin said coldly, "I don't know why she did it, but there's one thing I know for sure. She is a bitch, but she ain't like that."

"Honestly, seeing her like that screams trouble," Max continues and Lulu stares daggers at him. "Mea was a good girl!" she yells. Max quirks his eyebrow. "She looks like a slut slash punk to me," he says casually, totally oblivious that everyone in the room is looking at him in disgust.

Lulu and Max broke up the day after.

* * *

They all graduate. They invite other A New Direction members to the city to celebrate not only their graduation, but everyone's. Even from the ones who couldn't make it to New York, like Miles and Kate.

And Jace and Mea.

"Did Mea graduate?" Tyler asks, "I mean, we haven't heard of her since high school." Carla nods sadly. "Kate hasn't heard of her either," she adds.

"She didn't," Phoebe, who has been catching up with Alice and Gloria the whole time, answers, "Because she never went to college. I also haven't seen her in a long time because of her shows." "College was never an option for her in the first place," Kevin says remotely calm, "To quote her: 'Why would I go to college? I can't afford it and my mom won't pay for it.' I mean, that's what she thought in high school."

"She just vanished one day," Damian tells the others. They all exchange some worried glances. "We know," Karina finally sighs, "I have to admit, I sometimes see her stuff on my timeline, but she changed her number and stuff years ago."

"Yeah, I found out the hard way," Kevin spits and Lulu rests her head on his shoulder. She is drunk. "We know, Kevvy," she coos, "And then Ja-Jace left us too."

"I do not want to hear his name," Timothy, also drunk, hisses.

"What actually happened between the two of you?" Tyler asked. "Shut. Up," Timothy says, "Let me say, almost saaame thing as Ah-Ahhhlice and Damieeeen. Career shit. Only Milessss knows. Miles's mah bro."

No one says a word. Damian turns to Alice, who is laughing loudly.

Carla clears her throat. "But does anyone know where he is? We know that Mea is somewhere in LA, but Jason?"

Everyone looks at each other. They all don't know.

Well, one knows, but she is too tipsy to remember since she is talking with one of her best friends she hasn't seen in quite some time. "Why did you move to Australia again, Glo?" she keeps asking Gloria.

* * *

Kevin finds a job at this small bakery/coffee shop. The boss, Daniel, has been really enthusiastic about him and his recipes. "Dude, you graduated from ICE, of course you get the job!" he has said.

His colleagues are amazing.

There is Joey. He looks like a tough guy, but he is a sweetheart. Then there are a twin brother and sister, Matt and Mackenzie.

But then there is Emily.

Emily is unlike all the other girls he has met. Her hair is long, blonde and curly. It kind of reminds him of Alice. She is short and has an amazing body. She looks like Kat Dannings and she is absolutely amazing.

"So, what is your story?" she asks.

"My story?" he says and Emily nods, "Yes! Who are you, where are you from, what are your plans!" she clarifies.

"Oh, well, I am Kevin Hamilton, I am adopted and was raised in Lima Ohio – yes, I know – and I moved to New York after high school with a few of my friend. Uh, graduated from ICE and honestly, I'm planning on staying here." He grins to her. "Now it's your turn."

"No problem! Emily Wilson, born and raised in LA. Uh, I also moved to New York after high school. I am here now and I honestly don't know what will happen," she answers.

They grow more closer and after a moment, everyone starts rooting for them. The twins drive them both crazy. "Matt, once again, stated that we have to date," he rolls his eyes, "He even said 'asap'. Who says asap?"

"Mackenzie, apparently," Emily sighs, "Since she said the same thing to me." Kevin just shakes his head and goes back to concentrating on the cupcakes.

"You know, they have a point," Emily suddenly says, "Maybe we should be together." He looks up and sees that Emily is blushing. "I- eh, I meant…" she trails off.

Kevin's heart races. "No," he finally says, "We totally should."

When Matt runs into them a few minutes later, he kisses them both on their cheeks and says: "Finally, you assholes" before leaving. He has to tell his sister and his others.

* * *

Lulu wakes him up in the middle of the night. "Something happened with Damian!" she says. They find Damian sitting on their couch. He is basically shouting in thin air.

"Damian?" Kevin asks carefully. It looks like he's been crying. They all know that Damian had a nasty break-up with Amanda a few weeks earlier, but this seems different.

"Damian?" Lulu tries too.

"Why god fuck damnit did he have to do that?" Damian yells in frustration, "Now he has all this and he puts it on my shoulders too! Fuck everything."

"Damian, calm down," Lulu hisses, "You'll wake the neighbours."

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE ANYMORE!"

Kevin doesn't hesitate to slap him in the face. "Kevin!" Lulu shrieks, but Kevin doesn't care. Damian's eyes widen and he looks up to Kevin, hand pressed against his cheek.

"I needed that," he says softly, "Thanks."

"Damian, what on earth is going on?" Kevin asks, "Who did what?" Damian sighs deeply. "Devon had to hit this woman with his car," he says, "And now she prosecuted him. Rightfully, if I may say so, but as his best friend, I probably have to support him. That's what best friends do."

Lulu and Kevin exchange some looks.

"You're right," Lulu finally says, "But maybe you should talk to him first." "Friends are supposed to talk about things that bother them," Kevin adds, "If not…" He bites his lip and takes a deep breath. "Well, you see what happened to me and Mea."

Apparently, the whole thing with Devon is huge. Kevin decides to stay out of it. He focuses on Emily. Their relationship has grown stronger. It's been months since that first kiss in the bakery/coffee shop's kitchen, almost a year.

"I think I should move in with me, Lulu and Damian," he suggests one night, when they're together. They have the apartment for themselves. Apparently Alice is involved with the whole Devon situation and Lulu is god knows where, "I mean, you're about to graduate. You have to leave the dorms."

When Emily doesn't reply, he starts to panic.

"I mean, if you don't want to, I totally understand," he continues in rapid fire, "I know you've been looking for places and you have been thinking about moving it with the twins. I know, it was just an idea, and god, I haven't even discussed it with the others what on earth am I thinking-"

Emily chuckles. "Stop rambling," she says, "Even though I find it endearing, you should totally stop." Kevin flushes scarlet. "And even though I think you should've discussed it with Lu and Damian first, I'd love to move in with you guys."

So she moves in a month later. There she discovers the picture.

"Who is this?" she asks the others. She emerges out of their _– their_\- bedroom, holding a photo. "Oh yeah," Damian rolls his eyes, "I totally forgot you still use photo frames, man. You simply refuse to use your electronic wall, uh."

"Well, in his defence," Lulu says, "That is Mea. Both of them use old stuff. Remember their very first glee club meeting? Mea brought a boombox and they used CDs."

"CDs? Those round things?" Emily asks, "Mea?"

"No one," Kevin peeps, "I don't even know why I still have that thing." Emily raises her eyebrows.

"Because you still love her?" Lulu deadpans, "Duh. You will never get over her, Kev. Do you see that? I've accepted your doomed fate."

Emily's eyebrows raise even higher – Kevin didn't know that was possible, but she just proved him wrong.

"Your ex, then?" she asks sceptically, "Did she move in too?"

Kevin jumps out of his seat. "What? No!" The others protest too. "Mea, a girlfriend? What the fuck!" "Uh…. gurl no." "Hell no! That's just plain-ass weird." Everyone turns to Damian. "Plain-ass weird, seriously?" Lulu asks, but Damian waves her away.

"Small recap," Damian turns to Emily, "She used to be his best friend, but then she broke contact." "And Kevin isn't over her, because they were awesome friends and basically each other's everything," Lulu finishes. "No romantic feelings involved," Timothy nods.

Emily seems relieved.

"Oh thank god."

Yes, she is definitely relieved.

After that, they're stronger than ever. Of course they fight, but they also make up. Their friends around them change too. Matt falls in love with this girl Kevin can't stand and Mackenzie moves with her girlfriend to their first apartment. Joey is still single, but they both suspect that he has an ongoing relationship with his drinks.

Lulu's boyfriend moves in with them and Damian moves out. Since Kevin kept out of the whole Devon thing, he had no idea that Damian and Alice had started dating again.

He proposes to Emily at New Year's Eve 2037. The wedding is scheduled in December 2038. They both move to their own apartment. Emily's parents pay the rent, since they both need the money for other things.

He has never been happier, though.

* * *

It's open mic. Kevin loves open mic.

"You've got to sing a song, dude," Matt encourages him, "We all know that your voice is like heaven. Your cooking skills are amazing, but I still don't understand why you didn't want to pursue a career in _that_."

"I dunno, man," Kevin says, "I still have to finish the icing on that wedding cake."

"It's open mic," Mackenzie says, "It's only once in a month. You already declined the other months, but now it's time." "Mack is right, Kev," Matt pats him on the back, "Remember _It's A Wonderful Day For Pie_? Because I do."

"Oh, or that one time you changed Vanessa's whatishername's song A Thousand Miles?" Joey pipes up and they all begin to sing.

_Baking my way downtown__  
__Working fast, cupcakes pass and I'm cakebound__  
__Staring blankly ahead__  
__Just baking my way__  
__Baking a way through the crowd-_

"Okay, that was one time!" Kevin protest.

Other colleagues start chanting his name. Emily kisses him on the cheek. "Go show off," she whispers in his ear. Kevin blushes and gives in.

Daniel sees him and smiles in surprise.

"Ladies and gentlemen, can you believe it? It's one of our own!" he yells to the audience, "Give a round of applause for our own baker!"

The audience applauds politely. They want to hear him sing first. He opens his tablet and the music starts. He dedicates the song to the one person who's still on his mind, even after all these years.

_If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea,__  
__I'll sail the world to find you__  
__If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see,__  
__I'll be the light to guide you_

It's for his best friend, Mea.

_Find out what we're made of__  
__What we are called to help our friends in need_

He misses her. He knows that Lulu and Timothy has helped him with 'moving on', he knows that he will always miss her.

_You can count on me like 1 2 3__  
__I'll be there__  
__And I know when I need it I can count on you like 4 3 2__  
__You'll be there__  
__Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah_

He knows, that if they will ever meet again, he will forgive her for whatever she did and he will do everything to help her.

_Woooh, Woooh, Woooh, Yeaah, Yeaah_

_If you're tossin and you're turnin and you just can't fall asleep,__  
__I'll sing a song beside you__  
__And if you ever forget how much you realy mean to me,__  
__Every day I will remind you, ooh_

He would kill to hear her sing again.

_Find out what we're made of__  
__What we are called to help our friends in need_

_You can count on me like 1 2 3__  
__I'll be there__  
__And I know when I need it I can count on you like 4 3 2__  
__You'll be there__  
__Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah_

_Wooooh, Wooooh, Wooooh, Yeaah, Yeaah__._

_You'll always have my shoulder when you're crying__  
__I'll never let go, never say goodbye_

He will never let go of what is left of their friendship.

_You can count on me like 1 2 3__  
__I'll be there__  
__And I know when I need it I can count on you like 4 3 2__  
__And you'll be there__  
__Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah_

_Woooh, Woooh, Woooh,__  
__You can count on me 'cause I can count on you_

His voice breaks at the last line. He knows that that's not true. Not anymore.

Suddenly, someone is hugging him. "I'm proud of you," Emily whispers, "That was amazing." He looks back and sees the twins and the others clapping and whistling.

"That was amazing," Mackenzie yells. Emily leads him to the others. "God, you killed it up there," Matt says, "Told you!" They hear Daniel announcing the next performer, but they don't care. Everyone is too excited for him.

"We need to go out and celebrate after we're done!" Joey suggests, "Call Damian, Alice, Tim, Mason, Lulu and Julian too. We're going out tonight!"

"I need to work tomorrow," Kevin laughs. "Yeah, me too," Joey grins and Kevin gives him a pat on the back.

"Come on, you're getting married in two months, dude," Matt says, "Now it's time to celebrate the engagement life. Again." He quickly pours Kevin a drink.

"We celebrate that life weekly," Emily rolls her eyes, "God, everyone's getting married in 2038. First Alice and Damian, then Timothy and Mason. And we also went to some of Kevin's friends' weddings. It's crazy. Kate's was the craziest."

Kevin sighs. Little does he know that Mea was there too, since she was with Jace most of the time, avoiding Timothy like the plague.

"Still, you are amazing!" Mackenzie says. Kevin beams.

"Yeah, he sure is," they hear. Kevin almost spits out his drink. _It couldn't be._ The others are already looking, so he slowly turns around too.

Mea Statsons is standing there.

"Oh my god," Emily gasps, "Is that _the_ Mea Statsons? The one who plays Gabriella Moore?" She jumps out of her seat and Mackenzie follows her. "We're big fans!" Kevin hears them squealing. They make some pictures together and Kevin quickly looks away.

"It is always nice to meet fans," Mea says and Kevin can hear that she's closer, "But honestly, right now I'm here for a friend." She taps on his shoulder.

"Kevin."

Kevin looks up. "Mea."

Everyone is staring at them. Kevin can hear most of his friends and colleagues whispering things among the lines of "_They know each other?" "What is going on?" _"The _Mea Statsons is talking to our Kevin?"_

"Kevin," Mea says again, "I- I- Hey."

"Hi," Kevin looks away again and he can feel Mea glaring at him.

"How have you been?" Mea tries, "I see that you work here. You can still sing." Kevin nods. His friends can sense that there is something wrong. "You would've known that story if you kept me in your life," he says bitterly.

He can basically feel Mea tensing up. After all these years, he still knows her the best. Or, that's what he hopes. He finally looks up.

"I'm sorry," she says softly, barely audible because of the person singing on the stage at the moment, "It was selfish from me… to cut you out of my life. By the time that I wanted to contact you again –or better, Jace wanted me to contact you again- it felt like it was too late."

Kevin perks up.

"Jace?" he asks. He hasn't seen Jace in years either. Mea shrugs – probably learned that from Jace – and says: "Yeah, he's with me in the city. We're getting married anytime soon, so I begged him to come with me so we could feel the New York life before committing forever."

"_Woah, woah, woah, the two of you are getting married? TO EACH OTHER?"_

Mea goes white. _"What, no! What's wrong with you!_" she shrieks in horror, "He's gay. I mean, I'm getting married to my fiancé and he to his." Kevin actually sighs in relief.

"He left New York four months after you broke contact," he moves back to the subject they have to discuss. Mea bites her lip. "Again, I'm sorry." Kevin nods and actually smiles. He promised himself to forgive her. He puts his glass back on the table, stands up and hugs her.

Mea is taken aback.

"K-Kev…?" she asks. Her voice cracked.

"Mea," he smiles, "Missed you too." He lets go and gestures to Emily to get up. "So you're getting married?" he asks and Mea, still speechless, nods, "Fun. Me too! Mea, this is my fiancée, Emily. Ems, this is my best friend, Mea."

"P-Pleasure," Mea manages to say. Emily nods in astonishment. "You're Mea Statsons," she says, "You play Gabriella Moore." "Guilty," Mea smiles. "My soon-to-be-husband is best friends with Gabriella Moore," Emily says.

"Good, and now that we're friends again, I'd like to invite you to my wedding ad maid of honour," Kevin grins. "Hey!" Mackenzie yells, but then smiles, "If Mea Statsons is my replacement, I can live with that." Kevin looks to Emily, who nods in agreement.

"Then you will come to mine as my third best man," Mea says back. "Third?" Kevin asks. Mea laughs. "Yeah, Clark's brother is number one and Jace is number two."

"I heard my name," Jace says from out of nowhere, "And, good, I see that you two assholes made up. Finally." Mea elbows him in the ribs. "Fuck you too," she says.

"Hi Kev," Jace says nervously, "Long time no see, mate." Kevin nods. He is kind of overwhelmed. He wants to know what happened. Both of them. But now is not the time. "Invite your friends to the party too, man!" Joey gets his attention, "Because we're about to close."

Matt nods. "I already texted the others," he says, "Timothy and Mason are in. I still have to hear from Lulu and Damian with their lovers." "Did you seriously just say lovers?" Mackenzie judges her twin brother hard.

Jace's eyes are wide open. "Timothy?" he asks. Mea looks from him to Matt, who just looks confused. "Yeah?" he says, "Kev's big gay friend and his husband." Kevin opens his mouth to protest, but Mea cuts him off. "Oh, he's married," she says, "I didn't know."

"Yeah, in February. You know him?" Joey asks, "Whatevs, let's party, people!"

Jace rapidly shakes his head. "Mea," he says extra loudly, "I'm going to call Marcie to check on Julia! She's only five, but you know her, uh." Mea has nothing to say.

"Julia?" Kevin decides to ask. "My daughter," Jace says before basically running away, "Nice seeing you, Kevin."

_And vroom_, he was gone.

"Daughter?" Kevin asks Mea, who shakes her head. _Not now,_ she mouths. Kevin's friends simply don't understand and they drag her with them to a club. Lulu, Damian and Timothy are all shocked to see her. Kevin notices that Mea doesn't talk about Jace and his daughter (seriously, he as a daughter? How did that happen?) so he doesn't either.

Mea stays the night at his and Emily's apartment.

He attends her wedding a month later.

"And the last best man," Clark says, "Kevin Hamilton."

Kevin, wearing a simple black tux, stands up. He puts his nano-microphone on. "So, hi, yes. Kevin here," he says to the crowd, "Most of you don't know me." Phoebe slurs something. She is once again drunk.

"I said _most of you_, Phoebe," he shakes his head before continuing, "Well, there's a reason for that. Mea was my best friend. Is my best friend. But we left our friendship hanging, just like that. But I never stopped thinking about her. I spent years waiting for her to return and she did."

Mea smiles widely.

"She found me a month ago, so this is all a little bit last minute. I didn't prepare a speech," the people all laugh, "Ah well… Mea, thank you for finding me again. I needed you. I still need you, because you are my best friend, always been. Clark, man, thanks for making her happy when I couldn't do it. Toast to the happy couple!"

* * *

Two years pass and Kevin feels miserable about something.

"Ems, I need to talk to you," he says, "It's about Mea."

"What about her?"

"It's just… she lives in LA, we live here," he says, "And it is frustrating, you know. That's what drove us apart in the first place." "Do you think she will do that again?" Emily asks. She sounds scared, which is understandable. She and Mea are good friends.

Kevin shakes his head. "… but you'll never know," he says sadly.

Emily can see the sadness in her eyes. She recognises it. She has seen those sad eyes before, several times. One of those times was years ago, after Emily found that picture of Mea in their old bedroom. He told her everything and it killed him.

Suddenly, she has an idea. She sits next to him and kisses the corner of his mouth before saying: "You know I grew up in LA, right?"

Kevin nods.

"And you know that I still don't know if I want to stay here in New York."

* * *

Mea misses Kevin, who is in New York. It feels like she's always missing him.

"Missing him again?" Clark asks and Mea nods. "Remember, you still have to wrap Fans today. You better be okay."

"I will be, but it's just…" "Hard?" Clark finishes for her. Mea nods. "I'm not cutting him off again, but it's still horrible. He is my best friend, for fuck's sake."

"I will never get tired of you swearing, Mea," Clark smiles to her are always full of affection, "Even though it's not 'ladylike'." "Screw ladylike!" she snaps, "That douchebag had no idea what he was talking about." She shakes her head, remembering this article someone wrote about her all those years ago.

"True, true, screw everything," Clark pretends to be serious, "But let's get out of bed now. Like I said, you have to wrap Fans."

"Yup, and after that I'm talking a well deserved break," Mea mumbles, "I should visit Kev and ugh- it's almost Julia's birthday. Again."

"Well, birthdays happen now and then."

Mea reluctantly gets dressed and goes to set. Her co-stars are already crying. "Last day, Mea," Samantha, who plays Anna, says, "It's been years. I can't believe it."

"Neither can I," Mea says quietly. She's definitely not in the mood. "Everyone's already crying like crazy. Do they know we still need to shoot the last scene?"

"Why aren't you crying?" Samantha says and – oh, great. She is crying.

"I never cry," Mea says coldly.

They wrap Fans that day and Mea attends the Fans wrap party. To her surprise, Clark never showeds up even though he promised he would.

Even weirder, when she gets home, there's no one there. She finds a note saying _"I am so, sorry, Mea. Something urgent came up. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you – C" _and she grunts.

It is 3AM. What can be that urgent?

She goes to sleep and when she wakes up, she is still alone. Has she done something? Is Clark done with her? She looks down and she sees that she's still dressed as Gabriella. She really needs to return the clothes to the costume department.

But first, she needs to shower and she needs to change to her own clothes.

When she's done and sitting at the table, sipping from a steaming cup of coffee, she hears the door open. Clark enters the house.

Mea is about to go nuclear on him, but then she sees two familiar people standing behind him.

"I hope you don't mind me leaving you like that, love," he kisses her on the cheek, but Mea's eyes never the other two.

"Surprise!" Kevin yells and Emily smiles too.

Clark quickly lets go of Mea so she can go to the two visitors.

"I didn't know you were visiting," she says when she embraces Kevin. "We're not visiting," Kevin says and Emily nods enthusiastically. Clark joins the two and the three of them stand in the doorway. All three of them are smiling widely.

"You're not?" Mea asks puzzled, "What'cha mean by that, Kev?"

Clark clears his throat. "Mea, darling, don't you want to know where I was last night?" he asks, amused. "Oh yeah," Mea turns to him, "Do not ever do that to me again. You scared the fuck out of me."

Clark, who still looks amused, rolls his eyes. "I swear, but this was urgent. I had to help these two move in. They have a lot of stuff, you know."

Mean stands frozen.

_Wait. What?_

"Wait. What?"

Kevin grins even wider. He nods to Emily. She nods back and gestures to Clark to follow her. "We give the two of you some time to catch up," she winks and they leave.

"O-kay," Mea says, "Sit the fuck down and tell me what is going on." "Well, since you asked so nicely," Kevin sighs, but smiles.

When they sit down (after Mea made Kevin coffee too), Kevin tells her. "We moved to LA. Surpise, surprise."

Mea has already gathered that, but still. She spits out her coffee.

"Wha-how?"

"Let me explain," Kevin starts, "Emily grew up in LA and we both knew that New York wasn't the place for us. Sure, the city is beautiful and I will probably miss it, but we needed something different. And well, you live here. So we decided to move."

"When?"

"Weeks ago?"

"Oh."

Mea looks up and sees that Kevin looks alarmed. "You don't mind, do you?" he asks almost frantically. He sighs in relief when Mea flashes him a smile. "Absolutely not," she says, "But I was just wondering… what about the others? Lu, Damian, Alice, Tim? Matt, Mack, Joey?"

"They understood and supported us. Mack did cry, though," Kevin answers.

"So, you're here?" Mea asks just to be sure, "You're here for sure." "I'm here for sure," Kevin clarifies, "And I'm- we're not planning on leaving this city anytime soon."

"And your friends are okay with that?" Mea can't believe it.

Kevin laughs shyly. "You know, years ago after you disappeared, Lulu quoted the Perks of Being A Wallflower to me."

"That old book?"

"That old book. Anyway, she quoted: '_Things change, and friends leave, but life doesn't stop for anybody_' and Charlie's right," he says, "But you know, real friends never leave. They will always be there." He smiles.

Mea nods. "Yeah," she says in agreement, "That's true." Kevin nods too. "I know. I learned that the hard way."

**TBC**

**Woooooh. And here we are then. This is what I meant with parts crossing others chapters. You will probably find a lot of this in Jace and Timothy's chapter, since Jace spends most of his time with Mea.**

**Songs used:**

**Bitch - Meredith Brooke**

**Count on Me - Bruno Mars**

**The only thing I dislike about this is that is kind of spoils the other stories (for example, you aready know about Marcie being pregnant). Speaking of Marcie...**

_**Next: who on earth is Marcie?**_

_**Why did Jace sleep with her.**_

_**And what actually happened between Timothy and Jace?**_


	2. Timothy and Jace

***throws entire body in the air* [yells] FINALLY!**

**I have no excuses for why it took me 8 bloody months to write this chapter. I think I just... let it go for a while, you know. Around a month ago, I realized how much I want to finish this. I love my OCs too much to leave them hanging. **

**So I made a table with all the stories mapped out and the years too (since all the stories exist in one universe, it's really handy to have them all next to each other) and that only took me quite a while.**

**Then I basically started going over all the stories. I've been listening to the songs a lot (there will be twenty songs) and today I just sat down and thought: "I need to finish this chapter." I don't know how long it will take me to write the third chapter, but we'll see.**

**As stated in the first chapter, Mea and Jace's stories cross each other. Don't be surprised if you see a lot of Mea's story and its dialogue in this one. Timothy is a different story and that was the hardest for me (I mean, Jace's was basically already written) and well... here it is.**

* * *

_Who on earth is Marcie?_

_Why did Jace sleep with her?_

_And what actually happened between Timothy and Jace?_

* * *

_Why am I here?_

That's the first thing that always pops into Jace's mind when he wakes up every morning. He lives with his boyfriend Timothy in New York City. They share a small apartment, close to the apartment their friends share.

Jace knows that Timothy adores every minute of it. Jace doesn't. They both attend class at Columbia and NYU and once again, Timothy loves it. Jace doesn't. Hence, he doesn't even attend the classes.

College just isn't _it_ for Jace. He wants to get out of the city and into the world. But every time he sees Timothy smiling like that, he remembers why he's here in the first place. Timothy David. The boy that has ruined Jace's life.

The boy he loves.

But things are changing- also between the two of them.

Timothy is barely home. He's always out working for school and his career. Jace often falls asleep alone and wakes up alone. Jace knows that Timothy loves him, but Timothy clearly doesn't notice Jace's change in behaviour.

He is more reserved and less bitchy.

The latter is kind of a big deal, since he and Mea Statsons are the biggest bitches among the glee club members. Everyone knows that.

Months pass like this. The fights with Timothy are getting worse. Lulu, who lives in the other apartment, has noticed that something was wrong between the two of them and she has told Timothy.

_ "Why can't you just accept that I'm finally happy here?"_ Timothy shouted a few hours earlier.

_"Better question: why can't you accept that I'm not happy here at all,"_ Jace retorted.

And here he is. He's walking the streets of New York City, alone as always. It's almost midnight and Jace knows he has to go home. Timothy must be worried sick.

Jace laughs bitterly.

_Yeah, sure._

He can't go home. He can't face Timothy. He can't go to Kevin, Lulu and Damian's apartment either. They'll probably tell Timothy that he's there. He seriously doesn't want to face Timothy. He knows that they will make up – they've had worse.

But this time, it feels different. Who is Jace to Timothy? Is he just an accessory to Timothy's success? Does he even care about Jace simply loathing the city? Does he even love him?

_Of course he loves me_, Jace quickly thinks and shakes his head. But he still has nowhere to go.

So he does what he always does when he's not in the mood for anything. He finds himself a local pub (his mother is British- he can't help it!) and starts drinking.

"You look horrible," a random guy says and Jace snorts. "Thanks," he says. He's not even interested in the guy.

"Need to talk to someone?" the guy asks and Jace shrugs. "I need to get out of the city," he admits, "But I don't have any money."

"Sucks, dude."

Jace just nods and starts humming. He has no idea why. He is drunk, but he is sober enough to know what he's doing and what's going on. The guy seems to notice.

"You could sing on the streets?" he suggests. He winks and leaves. Jace watches him disappear and he realizes that the guy has a point. He _can _sing on the streets.

He pays for his last drink and leaves. The air is cold and Jace regrets leaving his coat at the apartment. He is still drunk, and still sober enough. He starts swirling around.

Sober enough to sing, apparently.

_Mmm, now I don't want to make this hard__  
But I don't want to make you stay  
Don't wanna be the one who's got to watch you walk away  
And maybe we can make it better  
Start out once again  
Do you even care whether if it works or if it ends?  
So I'll wait for an answer_

Jace can't help it, but he basically cringes at the lyrics.

_I'll need another love affair to hold me down__  
I need somebody there to be around  
I'll need another love affair to hold me down  
I need somebody there to be around_

He swirls around. It's really silent out here. He doesn't know where he is, but he does know that he's not in the heart of the city.

_It's not like I don't know__  
What you really need  
I just wish that in this situation it was me  
So shut up, shut up  
I know what you're saying  
And it's breakin' in my heart  
I'm tryin' to pick up the pieces  
And put 'em back before it falls apart  
So I'll wait for an answer_

But he wants to be done with waiting. Another swirl.

_I'll need another love affair to hold me down__  
I need somebody there to be around  
I'll need another love affair to hold me down  
I need somebody there to be around_

Swirl, swirl, swirl… He's drunk and he knows it. He likes it.

_And I don't love you more than anyone my dear__  
But I need you more than anyone 'round here  
And I'd love to say that, say that you love me  
But that ain't enough  
We tried so hard_

_Oooooooh oh oooh oooooh ooh ohhh_

_And I don't love you more than anyone my dear__  
But I need you more than anyone 'round here  
And I'd love to say that, say that you love me  
But that ain't enough  
We already tried so hard_

Maybe they should just… stop trying? Jace doesn't want that, but maybe it's for the best. Yes, it probably is.

_So I just got to find__  
Myself another love affair to hold me down  
I need somebody there to be around  
I'll need another love affair to hold me down  
I need somebody there to be around_

_I'll need another love affair to hold me down__  
I need somebody there to be around  
I'll need an-n-n-n-nother love affair to hold me down  
I need somebody there to be around_

When he's done he hears someone sobbing quietly. He decides to take a look, maybe he can help. He follows the sobs and stops when he sees someone sitting.

A woman is sitting alone on an old looking (and extremely randomly placed) bench and she is crying. Jace needs to do something, right?

"Uh, hello?" he tries. The woman looks up and tears are streaming down her face. "Fuck off," she says and turns away.

"I was just wondering," he continues, totally ignoring the 'fuck off', "if you're okay. And if not: is there something I can do to help?"

"Thank you," the woman says, clearly relieved that Jace isn't a sort of mugger, "I just went through a bad break-up, that's everything."

"Can I help?"

The woman shakes her head. "No," she says, "He was very harsh. He spat in my face and just left. Gosh, I was so stupid. And I was planning on moving to the city for him…"

"Wow, I'm sorry," Jace sits next to her.

"Not your problem, whoever you are," she tries to smile, but fails miserably, "Who are you actually?"

"Jace," Jace answers, "Jace von Maes." He extends his hand and the woman happily shakes it.

"Nice to meet you, Jace," she says, "I'm Marcie Stevens. Going my way?"

* * *

The name 'walk of shame' is painfully accurate. Entering his own apartment at eleven o'clock in the morning and seeing Timothy sleeping on the couch is hard.

He must've been up all night, waiting for Jace to come home.

Now, here he is and he has never felt this miserable in his life. He cheated. With a girl. He cheated on his boyfriend with a random girl. He still can't believe it.

To his horror, he sees Timothy moving. Then he hears him groaning. Then he sees him opening his eyes.

"You came back?" Timothy says, barely audible. Jace can only nod. "We need to talk," Timothy says, "I know it's been a while since we properly talked. It's time."

"I'm sorry," Jace blurts out, but Timothy stops him. "No, I am," he says. _For what? _"I know, Jace." _No, you don't. _"And I've been thinking about something. I'm quitting the extra curriculums, because we need to spend more time together." _What?_

"What does that mean?" Jace asks, too hopeful. Timothy stands up and kisses him. "That I'm free for the evenings."

Life is good after that.

Jace wakes up with next to Timothy, he walks him to class, he has dinner with him and he goes to sleep with Timothy.

Except for the fact that Mea has disappeared, things are quite normal. Jace has never understood 'normal', but he does now. He has never been happier. He totally forgets about the 'incident' with this Marcie Stevens girl.

But after almost four months of the perfect life, reality hits him. And it hits him hard.

"Jace?" he hears Timothy, "Did you hear the doorbell ring?" Jace shakes his head. "Nah, I'm busy working on my stuff for school, remember?"

"Well, there's a woman for you at the door," Timothy enters the room and a woman is following her. Jace drops his stylus when he sees Marcie, who is crying.

"Marcie?" he asks in astonishment. He hurries to gets up and catches Marcie in time. She is sobbing in his arms. Timothy has no idea what is going on.

"Marce, Marce?" Jace tries, not knowing why he calls her Marce, "Marcie, what- why are you here? Didn't you live in- What is going on?" "J-Jaaaaace, we need to t-talk," she sobs, "It went all to shit. Everything. It is all so wrong."

"Jace, what is going on here?" Timothy asks in shock, "Who is this woman?"

"Tim, honey, you need to leave," Jace tells him, "Marce and I need to talk."

"But-"

"Timothy, _please._" Timothy huffs something, but grabs his coat and leaves. "I'll text you," he yells when he leaves.

Jace helps Marcie and gives her something to drink, but Marcie doesn't seem to care.

"Marcie, are you okay? Why are you here instead of LA?" Marcie doesn't answer. She just stares into nothing. "Marcie, did something happen?" Jace urges, "I know, I basically disappeared out of your life after… _that night_, but remember before we did… _that_? I told you that I'm here for you. Hang on, how did you even find me?"

"Google," Marcie says half-absently, "There's only one Jace von Maes in the States, y'know." "Glad to hear that," Jace says stiffly, "But seriously, Marce, talk to me."

Oh, how he wishes she didn't.

"Jace… I'm pregnant."

And at that moment, Jace's perfect life falls apart. "Me?" he squeals.

"Yes, of course you! I'm almost four months," she yells, "I wanted to leave you out of it, because no one knows yet –not even Alicia, my best friend. But I- I needed to tell someone. And unfortunately, you're the only one who I can talk to."

"But- mine? _I am gay!_"

Now, Marcie looks surprised. "Well, you should've told me that before we slept together." She stands up, because she is mad. Obviously, she's mad.

"This is useless," she says, "Enjoy your life in New York. I remember you saying how much you disliked it."

And that is how she leaves. Jace doesn't think, he goes after her. "Marcie!" he yells, but Marcie doesn't turn back. "Marcie, we need to talk. You need help!" He hurries past Timothy, who is on his way back home.

"Marcie, you can't do this on your own!" he calls out, but Marcie shakes her head and leaves the building. Jace slumps back upstairs, where he meets Timothy.

"Care to elaborate?" Timothy asks sternly, "Who the hell was that woman? And please don't lie. I can tell when you're lying, remember?"

Suddenly, something breaks.

"No you can't," Jace says coldly. He is done with lying. Even worse: he is done with Timothy. He is done with following him around like he is everything that is good in the world. He knows that a part of him still believes that Timothy is everything that is good in the world, but another part is filled with unexplainable rage.

"I can," Timothy says.

"You can't, Timothy," he continues, "I've been lying to you for weeks now, months even. Things have been okay, but only because I pretended it will be okay. Later. For _us. _But the truth is that that was Marcie Stevens and guess what? Apparently I knocked her up."

Timothy laughs. "You didn't," he says, but Jace can see that there's something in his eyes. It looks like fear.

"She's four months," Jace shrugs, as he always does, "I'm the first to know. I offered her my help and support, but she left. And so am I." He didn't mean to say the last part. Timothy is frozen. "Leave?" he asks, voice extremely high.

Like, Kurt Hummel high.

Jace suddenly remembers the song he sang four months ago. _Maybe they should just… stop trying?_ Yes. They totally should.

"Yeah, I guess I'm leaving," he says, like it's nothing. Timothy is still gaping at him. "Look, Timmy," he says and Timothy shakes his head, "Maybe it's for the best, okay? Well, maybe not the 'me knocking up a girl' part, but us breaking up part."

"Jacey…"

"Timmy…" Jace sighs, "It's not working out. Can't you see it? It. Is. Not. Working. Out." Timothy's eyes start to water. "B-But… I thought…" "I thought too," Jace smiles weakly, "But we both thought wrong."

"Y-You cheated on me," Timothy chokes out.

"I guess I did," Jace shrugs.

"I trusted you!" Timothy suddenly yells. Jace is taken aback. A few moment ago, Timothy was clearly upset. Now, he's in rage.

Well, that escaladed quickly.

"Get out," Timothy says icily.

"Tut, tut, Tim. Just, let us talk as normal and rational human beings before I leave-" But Timothy cuts him off. "I SAID GET OUT!"

Timothy keeps glaring at him. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET THE FUCK OUT." "Tim, I think we should-" "GET THE FUCK OUT!" Timothy yells, "YOU HAVE FIFTEEN MINUTES TO GET YOUR STUFF. NOW GET OUT OF MY FACE!"

He turns around and slams the door. That was the last time Jace saw Timothy David.

Jace is completely alone. He can't think straight. He quickly gathers his all his stuff and leaves. He opens his laptop when he's outside. Now that the whole world is automatically connected to free wifi, he has no problems with googling Marcie Stevens.

Fortunately, he finds her.

His plane lands in LA the day after. He's exhausted and basically has nowhere to go, but he needs to see Marcie.

But first, he needs drinks. He enters the local 'pub', carrying his three suitcases and orders a drink. He sits there for quite some time, until he hears the music playing. It's open mic and someone's singing Bitch by Meredith Whateverhersecondnameis.

He recognizes that voice.

He turns around to watch Mea Statsons owning the stage. When she's done, he applauds politely with the others. He watches her talking to some guy and waits. The man leaves and Jace gets up.

"Isn't it Amelia or Mea Statsons," he says to Mea, who turns around. "Jason von Maes," she grins when she sees Jace, "What on earth are you doing here? I thought you were in New York with Tim."

Jace shrugs. "Tim and I- things didn't work out. I messed up badly," he sighs deeply, "But now I'm here. I just arrived this morning."

"And why did you come to the West Coast?" Mea asks, "What are you plans?" Jace shrugs again. "Like I said, I messed up," he says, "But I'll tell you later. I mean, I hope- If I'm ready to tell. Long story short: I messed up with someone and that someone lives in LA. I hope she lets me stay in her apartment, because I'm not planning on leaving."

"Wait, _with_ someone?"

"Yeah… But I better get going. I need to talk to that person as soon as possible, otherwise I'd be homeless," Jace tries to laugh it away. Mea blinks a couple of times.

They exchange numbers and Jace turns around. He has to go to Marcie. But then Mea suddenly stops him.

"Jace!" Mea calls out. Jace stops in the doorway. "Yes?" Mea quickly texts him something. "That's my address," she says, "I don't know much about this someone, but if it doesn't work out I just want you to know that I need a roommate."

"Really?" Jace asks in disbelief. He really didn't expect that from Mea Statsons, from all people. "Really," Mea says, "Now go to that someone and I guess I'll see you."

He leaves.

He finds his way to Marcie's apartment – after hours - and knocks on the front door. A woman with short, blonde hair opens the door.

"Hi," he says awkwardly, "I'm looking for Marcie Stevens? She lives here, right?"

"Who are you?" the woman says, eyeing him closely, "And yes, I'm her roommate Alicia Hopkins." "I'm Jace," he answers, "I'm a… friend. I need to see her."

"Jace?" Alicia suddenly snaps, "The gay guy who knocked her up?"

_Oh, nice._

"I assume that's me," he shrugs, "And now I'm here." Alicia reluctantly steps away to let him in. The apartment is not much, Jace can see that. When he enters the living room, he sees Marcie lying on the couch. She's been crying.

"I told you to leave me alone, Licia," she mumbles.

"Not Licia," Jace says and Marcie shoots up. "You!" she hisses, "What are _you _doing here?" "Okay!" he throws his hands up, "Before you go all bitchy on me, hear me out. I left New York and now I'm here to help you."

Marcie laughs humourlessly.

"Help me? Why would you help me? You're the one who did this to me, remember?" "In my defence, it was consensual," Jace says and Marcie huffs something, "And I know you're about to point out that I was drunk, but there's drunk and there's _drunk._ I knew what I was doing."

"Whatever. And now you left that guy to help me. How noble," she rolls her eyes, "What if I don't need your help?"

"Look," Jace starts, quite irritated, "I know that we both made a mistake. We were both stupid, but now you're pregnant with my child. I want to be a part of that child's life. I want to help you raise her if needed. I want to help you by supporting you. I could've just ditched you and 'Licia', y'know. What would've happened, then? You pregnant and your roommate working a shit ton more shifts? Is that really what you want?"

He sees Alicia standing in a corner. She seems impressed.

"Just- let me help you, okay?"

But Marcie doesn't look at him. Instead she says to Alicia: "Licia, please show our guest the door and tell him not to come back."

* * *

He knocks on Mea's door and rings her bell, but no one answers. Defeated, he sits down. _What if she's not home? What if she was kidding? What if I'm homeless now?_

He waits for one more hour before giving up. His ass is already aching. He's about to stand up when he hears footsteps approaching.

"I guess it didn't work out, uh?" Mea gives him a reassuring smile. Jace is tired. He nods sadly.  
"Come on then," Mea opens the door, "Let's get you in then." Jace protests, but Mea doesn't listen. She shows him the spare room and leaves him there.

Jace falls on the bed and sleep hits him. When he wakes up, he's delighted to see that Mea's still asleep. He quickly goes through her kitchen and finds a frying pan and some eggs. He knows Kevin's instructions by heart and starts preparing.

"Morning," he says when he sees Mea, "I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to repay you for letting me stay. Eggs?"

They sit down and eat in silence. After a while, Mea decides to talk.

"Okay. Spill."

Jace swallows and it just blurts out. "I got a girl pregnant," he confesses.

"What?" Mea is confused, "But… you're gay, right?"

"Yes, that is the worst part," Jace says bitterly.

"And I assume Timothy didn't take the news well?" Mea asks and Jace hisses. "Can we not talk about Tim?" he asks, "But yeah. He didn't really like his boyfriend impregnating a random girl."

"I just… how? I mean, are you kidding me? A random girl?" Mea has seen a lot of shit, but this was unbelievable. Jace shrugs. "Her name is Marcie. But can we not?" he begs, "Just not now."

Mea hums in agreement.

"How about you?" Jace starts, "How is LA treating you?"

"Badly," Mea spits, "I try every time. And they always reject me."

"Still trying out for showbiz? Really?"

"Really-really," she says.

"And what happened with you and Kev?" He briefly explains her the whole egg-incident.

"I couldn't do it, okay?" Mea hisses, "He was gone and I needed him, but he wasn't there. Not anymore." "I know how you feel, because that's how I felt about Tim," Jace says back, "But I didn't do it because I wanted it. My 'accident' just happened and look where I am now? Chasing the woman I knocked up to help her."

"That is very… wow, very honourable of you."

"Honourable?" Jace laughs bitterly, "Wow. That's a new one. Only Marcie and Tim know and they both hate me for it. But back to Kevin…"

* * *

...

* * *

"Fine, don't tell me if you don't want to," Lulu snaps, "You and Kevin need to start a support group. People who are left behind with no reason."

"Correction," Damian says, "Tim has a reason, but refuses to tell us."

"This is between me and Jace, okay?" Timothy snaps back. Seriously, he can't tell them what happened. When he came back home that day, it was empty. All Jace's stuff was gone. Not that it minded. Timothy was the one who wanted Jace to leave. He was furious.

Still is.

"I just wanted to tell you that Jace left me, but I think you guys already gathered that after my week of silence," he says and stands up. Kevin is about to protest. "Kev, leave me be," he says, "I need to- I need to clear my head. Take a walk."

Damian nods and Timothy can hear him saying to Kevin: "He just broke up with his boyfriend. They dated for four years, Kevin. He needs time." Kevin mumbles something.

Timothy starts walking around the block and he remembers everything that has happened the past week. The first two days have been horrible. He didn't leave the house at all. Damian has stayed over for the rest of the week.

And even though Timothy trusts Damian, he hasn't told him what happened.

After a few hours, he enters campus. He's bored and he has nowhere else to go, so why not? Maybe he runs into some of his college friends.

He does.

"Timothy!" James Harper says, "Well, well, well. Where have you been? You missed a full week of class, man!"

Sydney Murray nods. "Not good, Tim, not good," she shakes her head disapprovingly, "You are in Columbia, Tim, you cannot afford to miss a whole week of class unless you have a valid reason to do so-" "Calm down, Hermione," James shushes her, "I'm sure he has a valid reason, right?"

Timothy nods. He, at least, thinks it is a valid reason.

"Why are you here? I know your schedule, you don't have classes now," James asks, "Where is Jace?" Timothy winces.

"You okay, Tim?" Sydney asks, clearly worried.

Timothy shakes his head and tells them what happened. "Jace and I broke up. Cheated." His two friends' eyes almost pop out.

"I was rooting for you!" Sydney shrieks in horror and James just keeps shaking his head. "He cheated?" James asks in disbelief. Timothy nods and James's shoulders slump. "Oh, I'm gonna kill the dude who slept with your man!" he groans.

Timothy decides not to tell them that Jace cheated on him with a girl.

"Where is Jace now?" Sydney, who finally stopped shrieking, asks him, "I assume he moved out. It's that why you were absent for the week?"

"Yes," Timothy answers, "And yes, he moved out. I have no idea where he is now. Not that I care. He can suck it," he adds bitterly.

"Tim, are you-"

"OF COURSE I'M NOT OKAY, SYDNEY!" he yells, "I LOVED HIM. I REALLY, REALLY DID. I THOUGHT THAT WE WERE FOREVER, BUT APPARENTLY, WE WERE NOT." He can feel himself crying.

"I thought that too," Sydney whimpers silently, "But you just need to let it all out. It's okay, you can do that."

"We're here to help you, if needed," James adds, "I suggest a song. I mean, you singing a song."

Timothy firmly shakes his head. "I'm not interested in singing a musical song that fits the situation," he says, "I know, I'm from a glee club, but seriously. No."

"Then, maybe you should not sing a musical song," Sydney suggests, "Maybe, you should do a different a genre. One you never use. One you might even hate. Fight hate with hate. Negative and negative is positive."

"Well said, Hermione," James rolls his eyes, but Sydney's right.

There's one music genre Timothy usually dislikes. He has never seen himself as a part of a boy band or as a guy who sings pop songs all the time.

But maybe that's what he needs.

_I, I'm feeling your thunder  
The storm's getting closer  
This rain is like fire  
And my, my world's going under  
And I can't remember  
The reason that you got off the line_

Sydney smiles at him.

_You're moving on, you say  
Here I stay  
I'll take this pain  
Yeah, I can't, I can't_

And she was right. It still stings, but he needs to let it out.

_But what about love?  
What about our promises?  
What about love?  
You take it all and leave me nothing  
What about love?  
What about us 'til we end?  
What about love?  
You cut my wings, now I am falling  
What about love?  
What about love?_

The lyrics is so true, it hurts.

_Why are you colder than winter?  
You're switching the picture  
You used to be perfect, yeah (yeah)  
Once you're hot like the summer  
Please help me remember  
The reason that you said, bye bye bye_

James still looks worried, but Sydney shoots him a glare.

_You're moving on, you say  
Here I stay  
I'll take this pain  
Yeah, I can't, I can't_

Timothy can see that students stop to watch him.

_But what about love?  
What about our promises?  
What about love?  
You take it all and leave me nothing  
What about love?  
What about us 'til we end?  
What about love?  
You cut my wings, now I am falling  
What about love?  
What about love?_

James, who is also a talented dancer, takes Sydney by the hand and swirls her around. More students come to watch.

_Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh  
What about, what about love?_

_Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh  
What about, what about love?_

_Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh  
What about, what about love?_

_Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh  
What about, what about love?_

_You're moving on, you say  
Here I stay  
Watching every night get colder  
You're moving on, you say  
Here I stay  
I'll take this pain  
Yeah, I can't, I can't_

Sydney and James decide to sing the background.

_But what about love?  
What about our promises?  
What about love?  
You take it all and leave me nothing  
What about love?  
What about us 'til we end?  
What about love?  
You cut my wings, now I am falling  
What about love? (what about, what about love, what about)  
__What about love?, what about love?  
What about love? (what about)_

_What about love?_

The students all applaud him and Timothy, James and Sydney bow.

* * *

...

* * *

Jace knows Marcie told him to leave her alone, but he wants one more chance. He wants to show Marcie that he isn't one of those guys who just leave the girl behind.

So he tries.

"I thought I made myself clear," Marcie says when she opens the door, "I-"

"Please, let me explain!" he cuts her off, "Please, Marce, I'm only here to help you. I just- I want to be your friend if needed. I don't have to be a father to your child, if you don't want to. But let me at least help you, the baby and Alicia out."

Marcie is staring at him with wide eyes. Said eyes start to fill with tears.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Jace jumps away, "I-I didn't meant to make you cry, Marcie. I just- I dunno. Never mind. Pretend I don't exist, I'll leave you now. I-"

But then something unexpected happens. Marcie basically jumps on him and hugs him.

When Alicia gets home later that day and sees the two of them talking enthusiastically about baby names, she asks: "What changed?"

"I was just high because of the hormones," Marcie says and Jace snorts.

Jace finds a job after that. It doesn't pay exceptionally well, but it is good enough. Mea, on the other hand, is still waiting for news. He tries to cheer her up by taking her to Marcie and Alicia.

Weeks pass.

"I still don't understand why you want to name our son Tim," Marcie says and Alicia's eyes widen. "It's a boy?" she asks, but Jace shakes his head.

"No, we don't know yet. We're talking about possible baby names. For girls we have Julia, Alicia-" Alicia beams "-and a couple of others."

"And apparently, we have Tim as a possible boy's name," Marcie says, "I just found out." They go out shopping after that.

It goes all wrong when Marcie starts yelling at him without reason. He puts the blame on the hormones, but he can't help it. He leaves after that and cries, because he does not want to lose her. He mentally punches himself for crying, but continues.

He's on his way home when the phone rings.

"Yeah?" he says when he enters the building.

"At what time will you be home?" Mea asks and Jace opens the front door. "Uh, now?"

Mea has landed a role and Jace can smile again.

When she leaves that weekend, he stays in his room. He hasn't contacted Marcie and Alicia since the shopping trip. He's about to call her when his phone rings. It's Marcie.

He picks up and before he can even say anything, Marcie starts rambling. "Jace? Jace, please don't hang up. I just- I am sorry for what happened. I was under a lot of pressure, because Alicia kept telling me to drop you, because she doesn't trust you. So I was agitated and let it all out on you, since you are basically the reason why I was agitated. But Licia and I had a long, _long,_ conversation about you and she wants to apologize herself-"

"Woah, Marce, calm down!" he stops her, "It's okay. I'll talk to Licia another time. I mean, she just wants to protect you-" he hears a door open "-and I know, I messed up. We both messed up-" Mea starts yelling "-and, oh hang on!"

He bonks on the door several times, but Mea keeps on yelling. Something must've gone wrong. "Hey, Marce, Mea just came home and I think it's not good."

"Not good?"

"Not good, so I gotta go. I'll call you."

Turns out that Mea's audition was one big joke. Mea ends up in a depression and Jace can't take it. He decides to leave after weeks of insanity.

* * *

...

* * *

He should call Miles.

Yes, he should definitely call Miles.

But… _no, he shouldn't call Miles._ Miles is busy with his own career.

Timothy doesn't know what to think. It's been weeks and he's still furious, but he also wants to know where Jace is. He's getting desperate.

_Yes, he should call Miles._

He tries four times and Miles picks up when he rings for the fifth time.

"Tim, man, how is life?" he sounds happy, "And please, do not say 'Great!' because I know you're a lying asshole."

"Well, I'm not great, no," Timothy snaps, "I am turning insane. It's been weeks, _Miles,_ weeks and he- I don't- I mean, I don't love him anymore."

"I'm not surprised," Miles says, "He shouldn't have impregnated a random woman."

"Yeah, thank you for reminding me of that, Miles," Timothy groans in agony, "I called you for a reason, y'know. I know that you're busy with football and stuff, but I need a favour. Can I count on you?"

"Ask away, bro."

"I need you to find Jace for me," he blurts out and Miles doesn't answer.

"You need me to find Jason von Maes for you?" Miles asks in disbelief, "What the- How am I supposed to do that? And most importantly: why would I do that? That fucker broke your heart, man!"

"I know what he did, Miles," Timothy says, "I was there when Marce whatever rang our doorbell. I've told you."

"Do you remember Marce? I can track her for you."

"No and I don't care about her. I want to know where Jace is, not Marce. Her last name started with an s, though," he adds, just to please his best friend.

"Marce S. and Jason von Maes, I'm on it," Miles sounds satisfied, "I'll see what I can do. But can I say one more thing before I hang up?" Timothy hums in agreement.

"Move on, Timothy," Miles says, "Seriously."

* * *

...

* * *

Jace knows he has to go back. The past week with Marcie and Alicia has been hectic and he's even longing for his own bed, but the girls appreciated him being there.

He says goodbye and makes his way to his apartment. He stops at the door and sighs. He is so not ready for Mea's shit.

So when he opens the door and sees Mea, dressed beautifully, smiling at him, he almost shits himself.

"Welcome home," Mea smiles genuinely.

"What?" is all he can say.

At dinner, Mea tells him the full story. Her dad has left Mea and her mother when she was a child. Apparently he still loved Mea, but Mea's mother stopped him from contacting her. He got sick and wrote a will. He passed away last week or something.

Mea is rich.

Jace is impressed and actually kisses her on the cheek. "I'm glad you're back, bitch," he says and Mea laughs.

"Oh, and I bought some stuff for the baby," she claps her hands and shows him three full bags of baby clothes and other essentials.

"_Some_ stuff?"

"And I got you this," she hands him an envelope, "Please, take it. It's my way of telling you that I love you and that kind of emotional stuff."

Jace starts laughing out loud when he sees it's a weekend at the _spa_. At least it's not a nudist spa. Together, they go to see Marcie and Alicia. When Mea offers them money, they obviously refuse, but they cannot refuse the huge amount of presents for her kid.

_Their _kid.

Jace has never seen Mea look so happy. When he leaves for the spa (_really, a spa_?), he trusts Marcie and Alicia with Mea.

And even though Jace still thinks it's a weird gift, he really enjoys himself. Especially when his eyes land on a certain someone.

Owen Porter is handsome and funny and smart. It's been quite a while that he felt this way about someone. Because of all the stuff with Marcie and the baby, Jace didn't really have the time to flirt. But now that she isn't here, he feels unstoppable.

When he gets home, he feels like everything is right in this world.

And when a month later, Mea wakes him in the middle of night because Marcie called, his life changes.

Since Jace is too numb to drive, Mea drives them to the hospital. Alicia is already waiting for them in the waiting room. When she sees them, she ushers Jace inside.

That morning, Marcie is holding their little girl Julia.

* * *

...

* * *

Miles never found out what happened to Marce S. and Jace, or maybe he did but he just never wanted to tell Timothy.

"Again, man, move on."

And Timothy listens. Sydney and James are of course happy for him when he starts attending class again (he never stopped, but he skipped an awfully lot).

A year later, he meets Mason Lewis.

It is too rom-com, but Timothy seriously runs into him one day in a coffee shop.

"Holy shit, I'm sorry!" Mason says in panic when he sees Timothy on the floor, "I'm such a klutz, I wasn't paying attention." He helps Timothy up.

"Well, at least you didn't spill coffee on me," Timothy jokes and when he looks up to greet the man's eyes, he almost falls back again.

Mason isn't like Jace at all, in fact, he's better. Timothy used to think that Jason von Maes was everything that's right in this stinky-ass world, but Mason proved him wrong.

After that fateful day, he keeps on meeting Mason in that coffee shop. He wonders if Mason is doing it on purpose. When Lulu is with Timothy one day, Mason looks incredibly sad.

"Is that the guy?" Lulu whispers, "Your bump-in-guy?"

"Bump-in-guy?" Timothy shoots her a judging look, "Really, Lulu? You are a fashion designer, you're more creative than that."

"My creativity tends to fail me when it comes to love," she smirks, "Have you seen me around Julian? He can be my bump-in-guy."

"I don't even know how to justify that with an answer."

Suddenly, Lulu perks up. "He looks quite sad today, I should ask him to sit with us."

Timothy turns red. "Lu, no-" But it's too late. A smiling Lulu is making her way to Mason, who is sitting alone, and when she returns, Mason is with her.

"I'm Lulu, by the way, Lulu Chang."

"Mason Lewis," Mason says as he settles down, "And I, of course, already know Timothy David." He's less flirty, Timothy notices.

"Yeah, who doesn't know him," Lulu laughs.

"Well, you're lucky to know him. How long have you two known each other."

"High school," Lulu says proudly. Timothy just remains in his seat, sipping his coffee. "We went to New York together with a couple of our friends."

"And how long have the two of you been a thing?" Mason asks and looks slightly pained.

Lulu starts laughing like crazy and Timothy chokes on his coffee.

"We- uh," he is red, oh my god, "We aren't a thing."

"No no no no no," Lulu adds, still laughing, "He's too gay for me." "Yes, she misses some very important body parts," Timothy says shyly.

Out of nowhere, Mason throws his fist in the air. "So you _are_ gay! You had me worried for a while, m'lady!"

Lulu's laughs are getting louder and louder.

"So you wouldn't mind me asking you out?" he says to Timothy.

They start dating officially after their third date. Lulu loves retelling the very detailed story.

A year later, he graduates from Columbia with honours. By the time 2037 rolls around, he makes his Broadway debut. He knows Damian is envious of him, but they can't help it that Damian is stuck in the Devon drama.

Miles is in the city for his debut and Mason proposes. Everything is perfect.

They get married in 2038 (as everyone does) and Timothy looks back on the past years. Sure, when Jace left, he got hurt pretty badly, but he can't see himself marrying Jace. Mason is everything and everywhere.

* * *

...

* * *

Mea and Jace make a deal. They have to be dating Clark and Owen by the end of the year. Only Mea succeeds.

Sure, Owen and Jace dated a couple of months, but even though Owen was almost perfect for Jace, he wasn't for Marcie and Julia. He always referred to Julia as the accident that Marcie's the blame for. Jace kept reminding him that it was also his fault, but Owen wouldn't budge.

Family goes first, so Owen was gone after a couple of months.

When Clark moves in with him and Mea, he moves out. Marcie and Alicia welcome him with open arms and even though they aren't living together anymore, Mea is still often at their place and Jace visits her on a regular basis.

A few weeks later, he meets Nathaniel Woods. It's love at the first sight. Not that Jace actually believes in that, but when they start dating, Nathan loves saying that.

And after a while, Jace starts to believe it too.

He proposes to him in 2037 with a song he has written himself. (Okay, Mea might've helped him). He then realizes that he really does love singing. He remembers the guy from the pub who told him he could sing on the streets.

He doesn't end up singing on the streets, but in a studio. Mea knows the right people.

Mea and Kevin reunite, but Jace and Timothy don't.

Years pass like that. Jace is happy. He has Julia, he has Nathan, he has Marcie, he has Mea… he has all the people he cares the most about. When he's 30, Julia gets a little brother Peyton.

He doesn't think about Timothy anymore. Jace has slowly accepted that he will never see Timothy again. It's not like they don't get a chance to meet. Jace, Mea and Kevin attend several events with other A New Direction members and therefore he and Mea reunite with almost all of them, but they never seem to run into Timothy.

He knows that Kevin does meet up with him and because of him, Mea does too. Mea never mentions Jace though, and he's grateful for that.

And when they do attend the same thing, Jace always makes sure to avoid him like the plague (Weddings like Kate's wedding, Damian's opening night on Broadway).

When he hits forty, he doesn't even mind anymore. But then, in 2058, he gets a call from Gloria from all people.

* * *

...

* * *

Timothy has made a big name for himself. He and Mason David-Lewis are probably one of the biggest couples in the Broadway community.

He'd been offered several movies and television series, but he never accepted. He never liked the thought of LA.

He obviously does take some time off.

When he's 33, his surrogate gives him and Mason big news: she's expecting twins. Luis and Samantha David-Woods are both beautiful.

Luis's second name is Jason.

It wasn't Timothy's idea, but Mason. Mason knows about Jace, obviously, but Timothy has never told him that Jace's full name is Jason. When Mason suggested it, he'd been a bit reluctant, but then he explained that he wants to name Luis after his grandfather Jason who died when Mason was still a kid.

So that's also how Samantha ended up with the name Adria as her second name, since that's Timothy's grandmother.

Even though his own child has the name of his ex, Timothy doesn't care about Jace. He knows it might sound a bit childish, but after all these years, he's still mad.

He never sees Jace and he has no intentions of doing so.

So when they meet again in 2058, he doesn't know what to do.

* * *

When Timothy enters the very improved choir room, he isn't that surprised to see Jason von Maes sitting in one of the plastic chairs. He's not alone. Another man is holding his hand.

It doesn't hurt.

Most of them have brought their partners with them. Kevin and Emily, Mea and Clark, Lulu and Julian and Damian and Alice are all sitting next to each other, clutching each other. Karina is just staring into nothing. Phoebe is filling Gloria who has just arrived from Australia.

Miles is here too and when he sees Timothy, the two guys- no, men- hug each other. Miles nods to Mason, who nods in return.

Tyler and Carla enter the choir room too.

Kate is standing in front of a plague with her back turned to the others. Her husband, Jasper, is sitting with her students.

Old New Direction members enter the choir room too, but even though the room is filled with familiar faces, Timothy can't stop staring at Jace, who is now hugging Kate tightly.

The day is one big blur. Most of the time, it is just sharing condolences and memories with others. That evening, when everyone's in Kate and Jasper's houses, it is time to really talk.

Jace is sitting in a corner with his husband (his name is Nathan) and Mea. He doesn't know how or why, but apparently, he and Mea are very close.

Timothy is just mostly with Miles, cooing over their High School time. Miles is drinking a lot, but Timothy just lets him be. The day is emotionally draining for everyone.

Suddenly, Miles gulps and he looks away, looking guilty. Timothy is about to ask him what's going on when he feels a hand on his shoulder. His first instinct is to push it away, because he can feel by the grip that it isn't Mason, but then he realizes it's Jace.

He turns around.

"Jason Woods-von Maes."

"Timothy David-Lewis."

He assumes Jace found out his full name the same way he found out Jace's. Karina still is a walking gossip machine.

The two of them are just staring at each other. Jace has gotten old (of course, he's 46!) and he looks tired. Timothy feels tired too. Everything is tiring.

"The last time we saw each other we were twenty. No, you were nineteen," Jace says. Timothy nods. He doesn't know what else to do.

"How's Marce?" he eventually says.

Jace looks puzzled. Then he says: "Oh, Marcie! Uh…" he trails off. Then he shakes his head. "We're in our forties now, we can have a normal conversation. She's good. She and Alicia are back in LA, probably waiting for me and Nate to get home."

"And your…" Timothy doesn't know how to say it.

"Daughter? Julia, she's- gosh, she's 25 already. And Peyton is 16. I'm getting old."

"Aren't we all," he emphasizes and he's surprised by how calm he is. He's never really forgiven Jace for what he's done, but he doesn't hate him. Not anymore. "The twins just turned twelve. They're young compared to yours."

"I was young."

"W-Would you like to go somewhere private?" Timothy manages to croak out. "That'd be nice." So together, they ask Kate and Jasper if they can somewhere private. Kate directed them to the master bedroom. Years ago, they would've blushed, but now they don't care.

"Our talk is long overdue," Timothy says as they settle down, "It's been more than two decades and some days I still wonder why."

"Because it wasn't working out," Jace tells him, "I was drunk and I know it isn't an excuse – it was consensual, mind you -, but that is seriously what happened. Marcie and I were both hurt and we had nothing to lose."

Timothy just nods to himself.

"What happened after that?" he can't help but ask, "I asked Miles to locate you, but he couldn't find you."

Jace looks amused. "You asked Miles to track me down?"

Timothy actually blushes out of embarrassment.

"Marcie lived in LA- still does, so that's where I headed to." Suddenly, Timothy can understand why he's so close with Mea.

"Mea," he says, "You and Mea seem awfully close."

Jace smiles weakly. "Of course, Marcie and Alicia didn't actually like me, so I was basically homeless. I happened to run into Mea and she offered me a place to stay. I was one of her best men." Mea's wedding is one of the only weddings Timothy missed.

"I am happy, okay," Jace suddenly says, "I don't even know what you must be thinking right now about, well, all of this and it's been shitty, but I am happy. I have Nath, I have my kids, Marcie and Mea. I got some fame and sorry for hurting you, Timmy-" Timothy's breath stops when he hears his old nickname "- but sometimes I don't regret it. Sure, I absolutely fucking hate myself for doing that for you, but if I hadn't done that, were would I be? Where would we be?"

"Maybe we'd be Jace and Timothy David-von Maes."

Jace stops and stares at him.

"I- I can't see that happening anymore, Timmy," he admits.

"Neither do I, Jacey," Timothy agrees and Jace too is surprised by the use of his old nickname, "I am happy with Mason and the twins, I'm happy with Broadway, I'm happy with my college friends I'm still talking to." Although he really needs to call James and Sydney. "I- I am happy too."

"Maybe what I did really was for the best," Jace shrugs –he still does that.

"Maybe."

_Maybe, I can finally forgive you._

"You know what's funny," Timothy says, "I've spent so many years hating you for what you did, but I never stopped to think that all my luck, all my happiness, has been possible because of that fateful night."

"It's been over two decades," Jace says, "We'll never go back to all that, but can we at least try to be friends again. A New Direction isn't complete without you."

And for the first time that day, Timothy genuinely smiles.

"I'd like that."

* * *

...

* * *

A year later, Jace gets a call in the middle of the night from Mea.

He immediately knows something's wrong. Mea is crying like crazy and she tells him how Kevin got a call from Lulu, who got a call from Mason.

Timothy has been sick for a couple of months and every A New Direction member has known it, but no one saw this coming.

On Timothy's funeral, the only thing Jace can think of is that he's happy that they made up after all, right in time.

And he knows Tim is too.

**TBC**

**Apparently my killing spree continues. I originally wanted Tim to die at 60 or something, but Marley's funeral-reunion felt like the perfect time to reunite them too. **

**Songs used:**

**Another Love Affair - Darren Criss (I know that putting a Darren Criss original is like one of the worst things ever in a Klaine fic, but this isn't a Klaine fic and the song really fit the storyline)**

**What About Love - Austin Mahone (this is one of the songs dedicated to my sister, since like Timothy, I do not like this genre very much)**

_**Next: Karina Cara and Phoebe Hartig, our two dancers.**_

_**Where will they go?**_

_**Will Karina ever get over her feelings for Phoebe?**_

_**And what will Phoebe discover about herself?**_


End file.
